Soldiers of Btty. D, 105th F.A., 79th Div. near Etraye on 11 November, 1918
For those of you still planning your 2018 Centennial trip to France, the Webmaster hopes this summary of events and information sites will be helpful to readers:
Meuse-Argonne.com Events
The Webmaster and German historian Markus Klauer are offering a Small Group Battlefield Walk Series–with great date flexibility–from 20 – 27 September. Each day will focus on a different Army Corps and will include a driven “monuments tour” in the am and an intensive hike in the pm. The tour has also been designed to “book-end” the ABMC Centennial Commemorations at the St. Mihiel American Cemetery in Thiaucourt and at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in Romagne on 22 and 23 September. The event in Romagne will be a Full Luminary Event; with candles placed on all graves. Details can be found here: Small Group Final 6 Pages Jan 2018
They are also offering a Cenntennial Dinner Meet and Greet at the Hotel du Commerce in Aubreville on Friday, 21 September. The idea is to let people get to meet other Americans and Europeans with the same interest. Details can be found here: Centennial Dinner and Meet Updated March 2018 Final
A few weeks later Randy Gaulke and Robert Laplander are offering a Lost Battalion and I Corps Battlefield Tour from 4-7 October. Robert Laplander is well known for his many years of research into the history of the Lost Battalion. Group size is limited to fifteen participants, and the goal is to get participants into the field where these key actions occurred. Details can be found here: LB Tour Flyer Draft Final March 10 2019
American Battle Monuments Commission Events
As indicated above, the ABMC is hosting commemorations in mid Sept. They are also hosting Armistice Day events at every cemetery. A full list of events can be found on the ABMC’s website: https://www.abmc.gov/news-events/events
Events in France
France’s Mission Centenaire 14-18 Website offers information in French, English and German. Here is a link to that webiste: http://centenaire.org/fr. Members can select their language in the upper right hand corner.
This website also has a 2018 Centennial Events page listing events–largely in the Meuse-Argonne–that the Webmaster is aware of. That page can be accessed here: http://meuse-argonne.com/?page_id=2928
